Boy's Night Out
by Irene Finlay
Summary: The boys are all out and all want to know what Ron did to so thouroughly hack off Hermione...soon everyone is sharing stories. Written for the GT.net Valentine's Day "First Kiss" challenge. H/G, R/Hr, F/A, G/OC, R/OC, S/OC, C/OC, P/P


Boy's Night Out  
  
A/N: for the purposes of this story, Voldemort is dead, everyone survived, and Ron and Hermione aren't yet dating. Percy, Bill, Sirius and Remus all live in or around Hogsmede, and Bill is visiting.  
  
Ron Weasley stared forlornly into his Butterbeer.  
  
"Ow!" he suddenly exclaimed as he was smacked upside the head. He angrily rubbed his head and turned to glare at his brother. "What the hell was that for, Fred?"  
  
Fred laughed. "That, Ron, was for whatever it is that has you looking as though someone nicked your Cannon's jumper.  
  
"Hermione," piped up the black haired boy who sat next to him. "It's because of Hermione."  
  
"Shut it, Harry," growled Ron.  
  
Harry laughed as Fred turned to him.  
  
"What's this? Do tell, Harry."  
  
All conversation ceased as the men all turned to look expectantly at The- Boy-Who-Lived.  
  
Harry stole a glance at his best friend, who was now blushing furiously down at his bottle. "Erm.well.I'm not sure exactly what happened, but all I know is that Ginny and I were coming outside to fly a bit and saw Hermione and Ron in one of their rows. We were too far off to hear what was being said, but then she slapped him, and ran past us, crying. Ginny went after her but she wouldn't tell her what happened."  
  
"What did you do now, Ron?" Fred asked.  
  
"Nothing!" Ron exclaimed. Noticing the other patrons in the pub turning to cast curious glances at him, he lowered his voice. "Nothing. I didn't do anything. Now, can we please talk about something else?"  
  
George leaned forward and regarded his brother seriously for a moment before breaking into a grin. "Bullocks," he said. "Obviously, if Hermione is that hacked off with you, you've once again been a spectacular prat, and if you think for a moment that we aren't going to drag it out of you.well, then you obviously don't know us that well, dear brother."  
  
Ron sighed and drained his Butterbeer before beginning. "I suppose I should start by telling you lot that I've fancied Hermione for quite some time now," he paused, seemingly expecting shocked reactions to his admission. When met with none, he continued. "Anyhow, she and I have been owling back and forth all summer.much more that usual.and when she arrived at the Burrow last week we started to talk. Really talk, about all kinds of stuff. Today, she asked me to go for a walk with her. Everything was going great- we were talking about how it felt odd knowing this would be our last year at Hogwarts, and how it was nice to know that for once we wouldn't have to worry about You-Know-Who."  
  
"Yes, and?" Bill said.  
  
"Well.all of a sudden she leaned over to me, like she was going to snog me. I don't really know why, but I blurted out something stupid."  
  
All present at the table smirked, for it was a well-known fact that Ron often said "something stupid".  
  
"What did you say?" Harry asked.  
  
Looking around the pub, Ron noted that some people were listening with interest, evidently waiting to hear whatever it was that this boy had said to elicit a slap. He leaned forward, as did the others at the table and he whispered to them what he'd said.  
  
"You said what?" George cried with glee. "Oh Ron, when will you learn?"  
  
Ron sighed and leaned back in his seat. "It wasn't my fault," he insisted. "She was going to snog me-I panicked!"  
  
Bill chuckled and reached over to clap Ron on the shoulder. "Ron, being snogged by a pretty girl is hardly a thing to panic over."  
  
"Oh, I don't know-Padfoot here panicked pretty good when he had his first snog."  
  
The boys all turned to look at their former professor.  
  
"Sirius?" Harry laughed "Really?"  
  
Sirius glared at Remus before turning to his godson. "I didn't panic," he argued. "I just.didn't deal with it in the best way."  
  
Remus smirked at his friend. "Padfoot, let's be honest with the boys-you panicked. When Ari snogged you in fifth year, you panicked."  
  
"Shut up, Moony," he growled.  
  
Fred and George grinned at each other. "Tell us, Remus!"  
  
Remus shrugged. "They want to know, Padfoot!"  
  
"It was in fifth year. Ari was a girl in Gryffindor, a year below us, and head over heels for Sirius. She did everything she could to get him to notice her, short of running naked through the Common Room-"  
  
"Pity, that," Sirius muttered. "She was gorgeous."  
  
Remus chuckled, "as I was saying.she was desperate for Sirius to wake up and see her, and she got sick of waiting."  
  
"What happened?" Ron asked, clearly glad the focus was off of him.  
  
"Well, Sirius, James, Lily and I were sitting in the Common Room one night when Ari came barrelling through the Portrait Hole. She ran straight up to us, plunked herself down in Sirius' lap and kissed him. Well, Sirius here was so shocked that he stood up, sending Ari tumbling onto her arse, and bolted from the room."  
  
"I did not 'bolt', Moony," Sirius said indignantly.  
  
"Sirius, you moved so fast you practically Apparated!"  
  
"What happened to Ari?" Ron put in.  
  
"She wound up going out with Remus," Sirius sighed.  
  
"That she did," Remus agreed. "When she snogged me a few weeks later I didn't send her sprawling on the Common Room floor! Girls don't tend to like that sort of thing, Padfoot. Of course," he continued thoughtfully, "they also don't like it when you prank them on Valentine's Day.Apparently that's cause for them to stop dating you."  
  
"God Lord, that's almost as bad as what happened with Charlie," Bill murmured.  
  
Charlie's head whipped up and he narrowed his eyes at Bill. "One word."  
  
Bill laughed, "Oh come, now, Charlie-tell them what happened between you and Imogen."  
  
Charlie coloured, and Harry sniggered. It was the first time he could ever recall seeing the second-eldest Weasley blush.  
  
"Ok.well.erm.it was on the Hogwarts Express.I was up in the Prefect's compartment with one of the other Prefects, Imogen. We had been friends for ages, and I had a bit of a crush on her. It was just the two of us, and she was talking, telling me about her ideas for the Quidditch team-she was Captain that year.anyhow, the entire time she was speaking, all I could do was stare at her mouth. Then, without really thinking, I just kissed her."  
  
He looked around the table, his gaze coming to rest on Bill, who gestured for him to continue.  
  
"Well.once I'd done it I was sort of horrified that I had-I didn't want to ruin our friendship and I really had no idea if she even felt the same way, so, like Sirius, I sort of.panicked."  
  
"Did you knock her to the floor too?" Harry asked, winking at his godfather.  
  
"No, I just erm.I pulled back and then I said."  
  
"He said, 'Dragons are fascinating creatures, aren't they? Did you know that they sometimes accidentally burn their mates while they're in the act?'" Bill finished cheerfully.  
  
The table erupted into raucous laughter.  
  
"You said WHAT?" sputtered Ron.  
  
"I said what Bill said I did," Charlie admitted quietly. "Then I moved to another seat and didn't look at her or speak to her for the remainder of the ride."  
  
Once the laughter died down, another voice spoke up.  
  
"At least you didn't thank her."  
  
Everyone turned to look at Percy, who was evidently feeling his Butterbeer. Much to everyone's surprise, he'd agreed to come along for a "boy's night out" in Hogsmede.  
  
"I thanked Penelope after our first kiss," Percy explained.  
  
The table again broke into laughter.  
  
"You thanked her?" Ron cried.  
  
"I did," Percy confirmed. "We were doing walking round the castle one night and she kissed me. I didn't really know what to say, so when she pulled away I thanked her."  
  
"Tell everyone what you said after you and Angelina kissed, Fred." George suggested.  
  
Fred grinned at his twin. "You do realize, brother-mine, that if I do that, I will of course, be forced to tell everyone what happened when you kissed Pauline not too long ago."  
  
George paled at the mention of this, and he quickly stood up. "Erm, right then. I'll just go and get us another round instead, then, shall I?"  
  
Fred's grin widened. "Too late, I think I may tell them anyhow."  
  
George simply groaned and made his way to the bar.  
  
"Now then, George and Pauline.well George didn't say anything idiotic following their snog, although he did do something.you see, it happened right here in this very pub. We were celebrating the success of our shop's first week in business. George decided that Butterbeer wasn't enough, so he ordered Fire-Whisky.after drinking practically the entire bottle; he spotted Pauline, who happened to be here with some of her friends. Now, I suppose I should tell you that our dear George had been mooning over her for ages, yet had never had the courage to do anything about it-much like ickle Ronnikins over there." He grinned over at his younger brother.  
  
"Anyhow, I guess the Fire-Whisky had given George some 'liquid' courage, because he marched right up to Pauline, sat down beside her and started snogging her. Everything was going fine but then when it was over, George pulled back, gazed into her eyes.and belched."  
  
The boys roared with laughter and George, who'd just returned to the table flushed a deep red.  
  
"Oh, George, that's awful!" Bill chuckled.  
  
George smirked. "Yeah, I guess it is, but thankfully Pauline has a good sense of humour and didn't hold it against me.mind you, she has forbidden me to drink Ogden's ever again." he looked pointedly at the bottle in the middle of the table. "So naturally, we won't mention the fact I had half a bottle tonight, now will we?"  
  
Fred winked at his twin. "Of course not, brother.unless of course you tell anyone about what happened between myself and Angelina."  
  
George pondered this for a moment before nodding. "Right. Fair deal."  
  
Fred grinned, happy to be off the hook and turned his attention to Harry.  
  
"So, Harry.you've been awfully quiet all night.care to share with us the lurid details of your first snog?"  
  
Harry merely shrugged and took a sip of his Butterbeer.  
  
"Come on Harry, you're amongst friends-share with us," Ron encouraged.  
  
Harry still said nothing.  
  
"Oh my," said Fred with amusement. "Do you mean to tell us, that He-Who- Defeated-the-Dark-Lord has yet to snog a girl?"  
  
Harry shook his head and smiled. "I didn't say that, maybe I just don't feel like sharing it with you lot."  
  
Sirius reached over to pat his Godson's shoulder. "Don't worry, Harry- nothing to be ashamed of. Your father didn't kiss Lily until his seventh year. There is absolutely nothing wrong with waiting to find the right girl."  
  
Harry blushed and shrugged again.  
  
"How is he supposed to find the right girl when Ginny is joined at the hip with him?" Ron muttered. "I know you two are good friends now, but seriously mate, if you want to find yourself a girl you have to leave my little sister behind sometimes."  
  
"Ginny and I are-" Harry began.  
  
"Practically best friends, I know, but really, Harry-you need to find yourself a girlfriend, we don't want any more rumours about you and Hermione, now do we?" Ron said.  
  
"You mean you don't want anymore rumours about Harry and Hermione, don't you Ron?" Fred teased.  
  
Ron responded with a rude hand gesture.  
  
"Ron's right, though, Harry-I mean, I know that you really hadn't the time before to go chasing after girls, what with a Dark Wizard after you and all, but now that You-Know-Who is gone, don't you want to?" Bill asked  
  
Before Harry could answer, the barkeep came over; informing them it was closing time. Grudgingly the boys gathered their things and Harry, Ron and the twins moved to the fireplace to floo home.  
  
Emerging from the fireplace last, Harry noticed that the Weasley boys were all standing in a semi-circle, grinning madly at him.  
  
"Harry," began Fred.  
  
"We've thought of a solution to your little problem" George finished.  
  
Harry's brow puckered in confusion.  
  
Moving aside, Fred and George pointed to the couch, where Ginny was curled up, fast asleep.  
  
"Yes." Slurred Ron. "We've decided that you should kiss Ginny."  
  
"What?" cried Harry.  
  
"Yes. You should kiss Ginny. That way you'll have had your first kiss, and after all-we know that it won't mean anything, being as how it's Ginny and all." Fred added  
  
"But-" Harry began to protest but George shoved him towards the couch, while Fred cleared his throat loudly to wake Ginny.  
  
"Wha-oh, hi boys. Have fun at the pub?" Ginny asked, as she opened her eyes and sat up.  
  
"We did, little sister. Thank you for asking." Fred grinned down at Ginny.  
  
"What?" she asked warily.  
  
"Ginny, we need a favour. We need you to kiss Harry here. You see, tonight he shared with us that he's never kissed a girl." George stated.  
  
Ginny raised her eyebrows and turned to look at Harry, who was staring at the ceiling and blushing a dark red.  
  
"Really," she murmured.  
  
"So, Gin, will you give Harry here his first kiss? I mean, you kind of owe it to him after all." Ron put in, collapsing heavily into a chair.  
  
"I owe him?"  
  
"Yeah, Gin-I mean, Harry and you are good friends, we know-and we also know that what with Ron and Hermione flirt-I mean 'fighting' all the time, you two spend a lot of time together, but really, you're cramping his style." Fred sighed  
  
"I never said that!" Harry cried. He turned to Ginny. "I never said that."  
  
Ginny shrugged and regarded her brothers. "So you want me to kiss Harry? What happened to all the times you've told me that you'd kill any boy who even looked like he wanted to kiss me?"  
  
Ron waved his hand. "Harry doesn't count, he's not a boy." Seeing his friend's murderous look, he back-peddled "I mean, he is a boy, obviously-- but you two are friends--it isn't as though you still have some unrequited crush on him."  
  
Ginny smiled at Harry. "True," she said. "I don't." Moving to where Harry stood she put her arms around his neck.  
  
"Gin, you don't have to." he said quietly.  
  
Ginny's eyes twinkled mischievously and she shrugged. "Come on, Harry-don't you want your first kiss?"  
  
Harry grinned and bent to cover her lips with his. Pulling back, he smiled down at Ginny.  
  
"There now. Our work here is done. Come, Fred-let's go see if mum has anything we can munch on before we turn in."  
  
Fred flashed a grin at Harry and his younger sister and followed his twin into the kitchen.  
  
"I'm hungry too!" Ron cried, launching himself after his brothers.  
  
Harry chuckled and turned back to Ginny. "Sorry about that," he said.  
  
Ginny giggled. "Don't apologize, it was a very nice kiss..but." she trailed off and gazed up at him. "Don't you reckon we should tell them soon that we've been dating for a year now?"  
  
Harry didn't answer, instead merely wrapping his arms around her and capturing her mouth with his.  
  
-fin- 


End file.
